Frequent travellers have a greater level of exposure to factors that can impact their health. And, if they are travelling under a cost-driven travel policy, which many are, these factors can be exacerbated.
For instance, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), developed as a result of taking many long-haul flights, is a well known health hazard, which is why law firm Pinsent Masons gives compression socks to travellers most at risk. Other companies put preventative measures in place such as allowing cabin upgrades for longer flights (often more than seven hours). Travelling in business class presents the chance to lie flat or almost flat, a benefit in terms of reducing the risk of blood clotting in the deep venous system, because it removes the gravitational effect causing pooling of blood in the legs.
To build a well-being strategy, Jonathan Bond, Director of HR and Learning at law firm, Pinsent Masons, examines data to identify wellness related trends that the firm can proactively tackle, “We look at data to determine what the big picture items are that we need to tackle. For instance, information from claims and from occupational health tests enable us to spot and proactively address trends” continued Bond.
When Pinsent Masons first began looking at ways to help prevent DVT, they found off the shelf solutions lacking. “We all know the best practice advice of keeping mobile on a plane and staying hydrated, but we wanted to go beyond that. When we started to look at compression socks we found that many off the shelf products were not highly rated. So we worked with a company called ISObar who tailor make the socks to the traveller’s leg measurements. For those that trialled them, the results were positive with travellers reporting a complete reduction in swelling during a flight” revealed Bond.
Beyond environmental risks such as disease or DVT, there are also serious consequences from not looking after yourself when on the move. A report published in Harvard Business Review this year, 'Just how bad is business travel for your health?' found that spending over 14 nights away from home per month had a significant impact on body mass index scores. Additionally, compared to those who spent from 1 – 6 nights away per month, very frequent travellers were more likely to report clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression and alcohol dependence.
Leading travel brands are focusing on this, for instance, hotels are now going beyond just providing a gym. Many also organise early morning exercise groups to get their guests moving and improve their well-being.
"Research indicated that the more someone travelled, the more likely it was to affect their general health. This was partly related to not being able to sleep well and drinking more than they would normally – it affects lifestyle factors,” says expert in travel medicine and occupational medicine Dr Dipti Patel.
The number of employees being sent on short or long-term assignments abroad is on the rise. According to research undertaken by Collinson Group, 46% of HR professionals polled expected more staff to be sent on such assignments over the next three years (to 2021), 23% of respondents are increasing the number of employees deployed to ‘tier two’ emerging economies such as China and Russia and further 8% is sending people to frontier territories like Nigeria and Argentina.
Collinson Group
The number of employees travelling on business is on the rise and it’s clear to see why. Face to face meetings, which often require travel are worth £193 billion to the UK economy alone (CEBR). So care must be taken to keep businesses and the global economy moving while mitigating the risks attached to travelling.
Duty of care does, of course, prescribe that companies look after their staff, which ranges from ensuring they are appropriately inoculated to having a culture that encourages employees to talk about their health, mental or physical.
Pinsent Masons takes a preemptive approach where possible to keep their people safe around the world, “We provide our travellers with preemptive information from risk company, International SOS along with 24-hour access to assistance centres. This can cover anything from basic traveller tips and medical advice to evacuations to make our travellers less vulnerable and mitigate any risks.” said Global Travel Manager, Rosie Mohammad.
Yet not everything can be managed ahead of time, with travel comes surprises, “we had an incident recently where a traveller had lost their wallet whilst travelling overseas. The most efficient way of transferring money was wiring it through International SOS which was a very useful solution”, continues Mohammad.
Considering the anticipated rise in overseas assignments, putting plans in place to keep employees safe and healthy on the move has never been so key.